


Running out of time

by NYWCgirl



Series: Whumptober 2020 [4]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, Head Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Rescue Missions, Whumptober, collapsed building, injuries, prompt n°. 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26812000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl
Summary: Jack and Mac are trapped in a collapsed building.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946980
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Running out of time

‘Riley, do we have eyes on the ground.’

‘No, there is no satellite in that area for another forty five minutes.’

‘Do we know what happened?’

‘No, I was busy with the other team when I was informed we lost contact with Mac and Jack. The tech said the last thing she heard was what sounded like an explosion.’

‘I want two TAC teams to their last coordinates.’

‘Already dispatched.’ Riley admits.

‘Good. As soon as you have visual, let me know.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘Inform oversight.’

* * *

Mac wakes with a groan, there is no gradual waking, he comes too all at once. Pain makes itself known almost immediately. His head hurts the worst. What happened? Wait, where’s Jack? Jack was with him, right?

‘Jack?’

When there is no response, he opens his eyes, he is sort of laying on top of what appears to have been a floor, but it doesn´t look right. He tries to sit up but vomits before he is halfway up and it only manages to increase his headache. He needs to find Jack. He takes deep breaths when he is finally sitting. Once the vertigo passes, he moves to his hands and knees. It is clear he has multiple injuries, but nothing life threatening, he doesn´t see blood gushing.

‘Jack?’

He starts to slowly crawl to see if he can find Jack. It doesn´t take long before he does. Jack must have been thrown or fallen or something. He is still out.

‘Jack?’

Mac feels for a pulse.

‘I’m not dead, Mac.’ Jack croaks. With a groan he opens his eyes, ‘what happened?’

‘The building collapsed on us. How are you feeling?’

Jack apparently takes stock of himself, ‘ some bruises. I think I busted some ribs, ut they don´t feel too bad. Leg hurts.’

‘hurts? Or hurts broken?’

Jack moves and cries out at the sudden pain that shoots through him, ‘broken.’ He grits through clenched teeth.

Mac tries o focus on the problem, they will need to fixate Jack’s leg. He slowly squints against the light to find something to splint Jack’s leg. His headache is building, but he needs to take care of Jack. He locates what appears to have been a chair. The pieces of wood will do, so he slowly crawls towards them. His vision blurs in and out of focus, but he is able to get to the pieces of wood and back to Jack.

‘Are you OK, Mac?’

‘I’m fine.’

‘You don´t look fine, kid.’

‘Let’s get your leg splinted first.’

Jack nods and Mac sets to work.

* * *

‘Matty, the satellite is coming within range.’

‘I’m on my way.’

Riley connects her rig with the big screen and anxiously waits for the feed. Matty enters with two cups and hands one to Riley.

‘Thanks.’

The moment they get the live feed, they both are speechless, the devastation is total, the building appears to have collapsed onto itself.

‘Are we sure they were inside?’

‘According to our data they were.’

‘How long until our teams hit the ground?’

‘Two hours.’

‘OK, local EMS won´t be quicker, so we can only count on our own teams.’

‘What if they don´t have two hours?’

Matty looks serious, ‘we need to have faith that they survived and that they can hold on two more hours.’

* * *

‘Mac?’

Jack looks at Mac who is laying against him. It is clear to Jack Mac is hurt worse than he admits. The blood has dried and his head wound clotted but Jack is worried. With his broken leg he won´t be able to carry Mac out of here, even if he would find a way out of this ruin. Mac has been fading in and out of consciousness and Jack pulled him against him so the kid could rest. He is cold and clammy and Jack is worried. He suspects Mac has sustained internal injuries when he fell through the floor, or that is what he suspects happened. The damage to the building is too severe to be able to tell what really happened and where they are at the moment. He can only hope that the Phoenix team saw what happened on satellite footage and that rescue is on its way.

Mac wakes with a start and sits upright, groaning.

‘Take it easy kid.’

‘No, I need to save Jack.’

‘Mac? Mac! Look at me, come on kid.’

Mac stares with wide eyes and confused eyes at Jack.

‘Jack?’

‘Yes kid, I’m here. Nightmare?’

Mac nods miserably.

‘Want to talk about it?’

‘No, it’s OK. I’m OK.’

Jack nods, no need to argue with Mac in this mental state.

‘I should try to find a way out.’

‘No Mac, you are injured, help is on its way.’

Mac shakes his head, ‘how can you be sure? We are in the middle of the dessert.’

‘Mac, can you look around you and tell me what you see?’

Mac squints.

‘Headache getting worse?’

Mac nods.

‘Why don´t you lay down again.’

‘I can´t, I need to find Jack.’

Jack’s stomach drops, ‘no kid, come on, stay with me.’

Mac starts to get up and Jack tries to stop him, but pain shoots through him when he moves his broken leg. Jack’s pained noise seems to get Mac back to the present. His eyes clear a bit.

‘Mac we’re both hurt, they will come for us. Let’s just rest. I can´t walk.’

‘That’s OK Jack, I’ll think of a way to get out of here.’

‘You do that, kid.’

Mac starts to list to the side and Jack catches him, slowly guiding him in his lap. He slowly strokes Mac’s hair, careful of the head wound.

* * *

Mac moans and Jack worries, Mac isn´t doing well. He fears the head wound is worse that he thought. Mac is getting more confused and he appears to have increased headaches by the way he is squinting his eyes.

‘Mac? You OK?’

‘Jack? Where is Bozer? I need to let him know I repaired the fridge.’

‘He knows, Mac, you already told him.’ Jack hates to lie to Mac, but if this is what it takes to calm Mac down and reassure him, he will gladly do it.

‘I did?’

‘Yeah, you did. Bozer is fine.’

‘Good.’

Mac appears to be zoning a bit. His voice gets a spacey tone and Jack knows Mac is running on fumes.

‘I’m tired Jack.’

‘I know Mac, go to sleep. It’s OK.’

‘Will you stay?’

‘Always.’

Mac slowly closed his eyes, clearly fighting to keep them open, but unable too.

‘It’s OK, kid, I’m here.’

Jack strokes Mac’s hair while he closes his own eyes. All they can do is wait for help, this time they are not getting out on their own.

* * *

Jack starts awake when he hears calling. It takes a moment to orient himself, but yeah, people are calling for them.

‘Here! We’re over here’

‘Jack?’

‘Yeah, I don´t know where we are. Follow my voice.’

‘It’s Jim, we’re on our way, Jack.’

He can hear the TAC team entering the building and he looks at Mac, he didn´t even wake from Jack’s shouting, so that can’t be good.

‘Mac? Kid? Are you still with me?’

Jack slowly shakes Mac, they only sign of life is Mac’s face scrunching up.

‘J’ck? Be c’ref’l.’ he slurs without opening his eyes.

‘Help is on the way Mac, can you wake up for me kid?’

‘Help?’

‘Yeah, the cavalry has arrived, can you open your eyes?

‘No?’

‘Yes you can kid, come on, do it for old Jack here, let me see those baby blues.’

‘J’ck’ I can’t open my ears?’

‘Why would you want to open your ears, kid, your eyes, open your eyes.’

‘Apple pie.’ He slurs with a small smile.

‘Mac, you are scaring me, you’re not making sense. Hey guys, can you hurry up, Mac isn’t doing well.’

‘We’re on our way! Keep calling out!’

Jack does as he is told, holding his hand on Jack’s pulse point in his neck. Mac starts to get agitated and Jack keeps calling out.

‘I can see you Jack.’

Jack look up and looks in the face of Jim, leader of Bravo team.

‘Hey Jim, care to join us, Mac isn’t doing well.’

‘I’ll be right with you guys, hold on.’

Jack can see Jim is putting on a harness to come down while briefing his finding through comms. Jim is about halfway, when Mac starts to jerk. Jack instinctively holds Mac tighter until Jim tells him to let go. Jack looks at Mac, who is seizing.

‘Mac!’

‘Let him go through it Jack, I ‘m here.’

Jim kneels next to the two men relaying information to the team. He makes sure Mac can´t hurt himself.

‘Has he been seizing long?’

‘No, this is the first time, he is getting worse, he was completely lucid early and started deteriorating.

‘OK, we will take Mac out first, I’m worried for a brain bleed.’

Jack nods.

A stretcher is lowered along with two rescuers. The have Mac in the basket in no time and he is hoisted up with one of them. The other one stays with Hack, examining and stabilizing his wounds. The stretcher comes down again and the two men lift Jack on the stretcher.

By the time Jack is brought out of the building to a waiting ambulance, Mac is nowhere in sight.

‘They airlifted Mac to a trauma center, Jack. We will follow in an ambulance.’

Jack nods, the adrenaline starting to fade. He is tired, and when the paramedic pushes fluids and pain meds, he is out;

* * *

Jack wakes with the familiar feeling of a post-op hang-over. He blinks open his eyes and clearly this is a hospital room, they all look alike. He groans and someone is walking towards him.

‘Hey Jack, how are you feeling?’

‘OK, I guess, how is Mac?’

‘I was right about the brain bleed, they operated and he is admitted to the stroke unit.’

‘I need to see him.’

‘Well, let us wait and call the doc, OK.’

‘Jim, seriously, I need to see him.’

‘I know Jack, but you just had surgery to set your leg, so I want a doc’s clearance.’

Jack groans, letting his head drop back on the pillow.

Jim leaves the room to find a doctor, while Jack takes stock of his body, everything hurts, so, there’s that. But he isn´t on an IV or anything so they expect him to swallow pain meds. Good.

‘Good evening, my name is doctor Bogaert, I operated on your leg. You were lucky, it was a more or less clean break so I expect no complications.’

‘Good, when can I see my kid?’

‘Mister Macgyver is admitted to the stroke unit…’

‘I need to see the him.’

‘I understand, I can ok a short visit, provided you stay in bed, you are not up to sitting just yet.’

‘I will do anything you want if I can see him.’

‘OK, let me call patient transport and the stroke unit. Do you want something to eat?’

‘No, I will eat when I saw Mac.’

The doctor smiles, ‘OK then. If you don´t feel well, tell the person with you, OK?’

A girl enters the room, ‘Jack Dalton?’

Jack nods.

‘Great, I’m here to take you to visit the stroke unit, correct?’

‘Thanks.’

The girl pushes his bed through the corridors until they arrive at the stroke ward. I looks a bit like an ICU, there is a large nurses station and six beds in front of them. There is no privacy, but most of the patients are not awake. Jack zones in on Mac almost immediately. He is breathing on his own, and he appears to be sleeping, except for all the bruising on his face. They cleaned him up.

‘Can I touch him?’

The ward nurse walks up to him, ‘I was called by doctor Bogaert, you are here to visit mister Macgyver?’

‘He likes to be called Mac.’

‘Here, let me make space, so we can put your bed next to his.’

She efficiently removes the side table and pushes his bed next to Mac’s. She makes sure none of Mac’s IV’s don´t get tangled.

‘How is he?’

‘He is doing well. They operated to stop the bleeding and he woke up earlier. He seems lucid, so we are cautiously optimistic that there is no lasting effects.’

‘He was awake?’

‘Yeah, he was, he asked for you.’

‘He did?’

She nod smiling, ‘look, I’m going to continue but feel free to stay, the ward is not filled, so we have space. If you need anything, call out, OK, we are always in the vicinity.’

‘I will, thanks.’

Jack takes Mac’s hand in his and lays back. The little trip drained him. Mac is going to be Ok. He has to.

When the nurse comes back to check on them, both men are fast asleep.


End file.
